Robert was always the clown and the protector. He was loved by everyone who knew him. We remember his bright personality and his whit. He is and always will be loved.

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Robert William Hicks was born on July 18, 1985 to Anna Hicks.

He was a real joy from the start. To his mother, he was a crying towel. To everyone he was a joy to have around.

He exceeded all of our expectations of intelligence. He attended Clay and Grissom Grade schools and The Glenwood School for Boys in Glenwood, IL. He went on to Bloom High School for a year and a half.

He wasn't very mechanically inclined but he knew who he could delegate the work to. Usually it was his brothers.

He could charm your socks off. This is evident with the number of girlfriends that he had. He often used his charm to get himself out of trouble in school.

Robert also learned how to use his influence when it was needed. This was shown to Ann and I in more detail when we arrived in Alabama.

Robert was a part of a group of teens that hung out at the local mall. Behind that mall is a bird sanctuary. That is where he worked his magic touch.

The group included homeless kids and kids without jobs. His personal project was to see that they all had a warm place to sleep, a warm meal and a job.

At any given time, there was about 25 to 30 kids at the mall. When word got out that Robert was there, the number expanded to 75 to 100.

We heard how he had found this one a shelter or this one a warm meal (even if the money for it came out of his pocket). He was born poor and lived poor, but became one of the richest people this world has ever known.

If you could have seen the love that he had from everyone he met and touched, it would really warm your heart. Those of you here that Robert touched know just what I mean.

Robert will be missed. That much goes without saying. We mourn, not for Robert. We mourn for ourselves. He was taken from us but he will live on in our hearts.

Why and how he died is no longer important to him. His love for us is eternal. That is what is important to him now. His problems here are through.

I won't say that Robert was ever an Angel. The nice thing about memories is that eventually, the bad ones fade and only the good and happy ones stay in our hearts. I hope that process starts now.

Robert William Hicks left this world on June 27, 2003 and was greeted by his Aunt, his grandparents and his Lord and Savior, just 22 days short of his 18th birthday here. He will celebrate that with them in his new mansion.

To paraphrase a line from The Evangel,

"Don't cry because Robert is no longer with us, smile because Robert was here and added to our lives."

Robert is not mourning. He is singing, and probably helping the angels by now.

Because of his involvement, we ask that the next time you get a phone call or a letter from a child based charity, please give. Find a teen shelter or a home for battered and abused children and please give. As you send off that check take your own child or grandchild in your arms and give them an extra hug.

Robert was not my biological son but, never the less, he was one of my children. I was there to change his diapers, watched him take his first steps and put up with the crying when he started cutting his teeth.

This was the only real home he had. He went through good times and bad. He shrugged off the bad and embraced the good.

In a letter we found addressed to his cousin, Robert was counting the days until his birthday so he could come home. He is home now. It wasn't the home we wanted for him this early, but it is the best we could ever hope for him.

I didn't say goodbye to Robert. I just said, "See you later."